It’s surprisingly hard to create a systems so blind people can vote independently
The state will be rolling out tablet-based voting systems for New Hampshire’s sight-impaired voters at Tuesday’s election and that should make it easier for them to cast ballots privately and independently – but maybe not too quickly. “You can read everything at once,...
Database says only 19 NH schools have solar panels
Schools are an obvious place to put solar panels, since they use most of their power during the day and have big, flat roofs. But upfront funding is a problem. A national database (here) lists 19 New Hampshire schools with installed solar, a couple of them private but...
The power-line drone is cool – but holy cow, what a camera!
Eversource is rolling out a program where it uses quadracopter drones to do some transmission-line inspections. As I note in my story (read it here) these are replacements for helicopter inspections because they have to flown within line of sight of the ground...
The science establishment doesn’t support the Ig Nobels (for shame!)
Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel Awards, drew a standing-room-only crowd to Science Cafe NH in Concord last night – in fact, we had to turn a few people away. I can’t take notes while moderating so I can’t give you a blow-by-blow of the two...
Can a three-story building be net-zero with its own solar panels?
People tend to over-estimate how much electricity is put out by solar panels, so I was very dubious when I heard that a 29-unit apartment complex coming to West Lebanon would get all of its energy, including heating and cooling, strictly from panels on the building....
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Science Cafe NHAbout Granite Geek
Dave Brooks has written a science/tech column since 1991 - yes, that long - and has written this blog since 2006, keeping an eye on topics of geekish interest in and around New Hampshire, from software to sea level rise, population dynamics to printing (3-D, of course). He moderates monthly Science Cafe NH discussions, beer in hand, and discusses the geek world regularly on New Hampshire Public Radio.
Brooks earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics but got lost on the way to the Ivory Tower and ended up in a newsroom. He has reported for newspapers from Tennessee to New England. Rummage through his bag of awards you'll find oddities like three Best Blog prizes from the New Hampshire Press Association and a Writer of the Year award from the N.H. Farm and Forest Bureau, of all places. He joined the Concord Monitor in 2015.